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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23131069">Perseverance</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarllingWrites/pseuds/StarllingWrites'>StarllingWrites</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Monster Tales [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aliens, NASA, Outer Space, Science Fiction</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 07:20:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>533</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23131069</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarllingWrites/pseuds/StarllingWrites</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Many of us know about NASA's Mars rover named Opportunity—the one that sang "Happy Birthday" to itself and that we lost contact with. Recently, NASA had a contest to name the next Mars rover and at the beginning of this month the winning name was announced. Perseverance! (Welcome to the family of Mars rovers, Percy. Looking forward to your explorations)</p>
<p>Enjoy this cute short story about aliens to celebrate humanity's continued space exploration.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Monster Tales [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1434211</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Perseverance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p>
<p>When I stopped on the abandoned rock to make repairs, I wasn't expecting to find anything. So it was alarming to suddenly hear whirs and whistles. I glanced around again and saw no other being around. With a mix of curiosity and worry, I began walking around in search for the source.</p>
<p>A few blip away, I found my answer. On the ground was a small cir-be. I gingerly picked it up and looked it over. Judging by the amount of dust accumulated on it, I gathered it had been injured and got stuck some time ago. Poor thing.</p>
<p>I brought it back to my streamer to examine it closer. Upon removing its outer shell, I realized I didn't have the skill set to care for it. But I couldn't just leave it here. I looked up a roster of the local care wards. There was a small one nearby. It hadn't been open long, nor did it have an extensive staff, but they said they specialized in cir-be from this sector.</p>
<p>I finished off the repairs to my streamer and headed to the care ward.</p>
<p>As expected, the place wasn't busy. The receptionist seemed delighted to finally have work when I entered. They gave me a tablet to fill out, then took me back to the tinkerer.</p>
<p>"Hello. I'm Zeba," they introduced. "What do we have here?"</p>
<p>"I found this little one near Soluran."</p>
<p>They hummed and took it from me. Setting it on the table, Zeba quickly got to work fixing it up. With how swiftly they were dismantling it, their listing was accurate about their proficiency. It was mesmerizing to watch.</p>
<p>"Were you looking to keep this little one?" Zeba asked a moment later.</p>
<p>"Huh? Oh—uh... no. No, not really. I was going to either let you handle its release, or put it back where I found it."</p>
<p>They nodded. "Returning it would be best. It's actually from a neighboring planet in that system. This little cir-be is a part of their first attempts at galactic research."</p>
<p>"You sure know a lot."</p>
<p>"What can I say?" they chuckled. "I enjoy watching this young species learn. They're like babies. Anyway, give me about di pulses and it'll be good to go."<br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>———<br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>"Ma'am!" the assistant yelled as he barged into the room. He bent over, hands on knees, trying to catch his breath.</p>
<p>"I assume there is an important reason why you barged into my office."</p>
<p>"Yes, ma'am," he panted. "You need to come see this. We got something."</p>
<p>Her brow knitted. This was either going to be very good, or very not. She swiftly followed the assistant to the lab. The room was packed with people all standing around one of the computers. "What's all this now?" she barked, irritated by the lack of answers yet.</p>
<p>"We just got an incoming transmission," one of the senior scientists spoke up. "From Opportunity."</p>
<p>"Opportunity? We lost contact with that rover twenty years ago. How...?"</p>
<p>A notification ringed from the computer. Everyone's eyes locked on the screen.</p>
<p>"Another message from Oppy. Picture downloading now."</p>
<p>It was a shame they wouldn't be able to talk about what they saw to anyone outside the lab.</p>
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